Rare twin Olive Ridley eggs sighted in Gahirmatha sanctuary

Kendrapada, Mar 28 (UNI) The Bhitarknaika Forest officials have collected six pairs of rare twin eggs and a triplet egg of endangered olive Ridely sea turtle from Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.

According to Divisional Forest Officer of Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division A.K.Jena the rare eggs were collected from Pentha Sandy beaches during the mass nesting of the sea turtles.

Mr Jena said the forest officials during the collection of turtle eggs for artificial hatchling, to their surprise, found half dozen of twin eggs and a triplet egg.

Later these eggs were brought to the artificial hatchery at Pentha for hatching. The officials, he said, have kept the rare eggs separately to hatch them in the artificial hatcheries.

The eggs sighted by the officials for the first time in the history of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary were of normal size like the other olive ridley eggs.

Sources said about 20,000 hatchlings which were hatched in artificial hatcheries at Gahirmatha have started emerging from the pits.

The forest officials have collected eggs from 500 nesting side to hatch them in three artificial hatcheries set up at Gahirmatha with the sole objective to protect the eggs from the predators like jackals, wild boars, dogs and birds.

About 1.60 lakh of Olive Ridley sea turtles had arrived on the sandy beach Nasi II island have arrived for mass nesting.

UNI